U.S. patent application number 16/471845 was filed with the patent office on 2020-03-19 for smoke or fire barrier for a clean room.
The applicant listed for this patent is Coopers Fire Limited. Invention is credited to James Reed.
Application Number | 20200086149 16/471845 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 58284336 |
Filed Date | 2020-03-19 |
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United States Patent
Application |
20200086149 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Reed; James |
March 19, 2020 |
Smoke or Fire Barrier for a Clean Room
Abstract
A smoke or fire barrier (1), comprising a head box (2) which
contains a roller (9). Extending from the head box are a pair of
side guides (3) which guide a metallic foil curtain (5) from the
roller, where it is stored, to the ground when deployed. At the
bottom of the curtain (5), where it meets the ground when deployed
is a bottom bar (4). The metallic foil curtain (5) is made up of
individual foil panels (6). The curtain is made from a panel of
stainless steel with dimples (8) across it. The dimples allow
improved characteristics when rolling and being stored as it holds
its shape better. The dimples also provide improved heat transfer
characteristics.
Inventors: |
Reed; James; (Hampshire,
GB) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Coopers Fire Limited |
Hampshire |
|
GB |
|
|
Family ID: |
58284336 |
Appl. No.: |
16/471845 |
Filed: |
December 20, 2017 |
PCT Filed: |
December 20, 2017 |
PCT NO: |
PCT/GB2017/053828 |
371 Date: |
June 20, 2019 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
A62C 2/10 20130101; E06B
9/42 20130101; E06B 9/0692 20130101; E06B 5/16 20130101 |
International
Class: |
A62C 2/10 20060101
A62C002/10 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Dec 20, 2016 |
GB |
1621718.4 |
Claims
1. A smoke or fire barrier for a clean room comprising: a metallic
curtain, comprising: at least one panel of metallic foil, having a
plurality of dimples arranged across the surface of the metallic
foil, means for deployment and withdrawal of the curtain.
2. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein dimples
are arranged in a regular array, a random pattern or arranged to
present an image or word.
3. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 2, wherein dimples
are arranged in an array substantially parallel to a deployment
direction, or transverse thereto or at an intermediate angle.
4. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 2, wherein dimples
are arranged in an array having a number of internal orientations,
such that one is parallel to a deployment direction, one transverse
to it and a third diagonal to it.
5. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
dimples are impressed in the metallic foil from one side only.
6. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 5, wherein the
dimples are impressed in the metallic foil from both sides.
7. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
dimples are oriented in a predominant direction.
8. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
dimples are symmetrical.
9. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
dimples are continuous.
10. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
dimples have planar lands in between them.
11. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 8, wherein the
dimples have impressed ends which impart continuous curvature to
the dimpled foil.
12. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
dimples have a pitch between them, preferably in two dimensions
when in a two dimensional array, of between 4 mm and 25 mm and
preferably between 5 mm and 15 mm.
13. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 12, wherein the
dimples have a peak to peak dimension between 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm and
preferably between 0.75 mm and 1.5 mm.
14. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
metallic foil has a thickness of between 30 microns and 100
microns.
15. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 14, wherein the
metallic foil is of stainless steel.
16. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
metallic curtain is made up of a series of metallic foil panels
connected at seams.
17. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
seams are welded, connected by a metallic hook and loop fastener or
sewn together with a metallic thread.
18. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
seams are arranged in a direction of deployment and/or transverse
to this direction.
19. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 16, wherein the
seams have folded in hems.
20. A smoke or fire barrier as claimed in claim 1, wherein the
metallic curtain has a further pigmented and/or fire retardant
coating.
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a smoke or fire barrier
particularly but not exclusively for a clean room.
[0002] A clean room is an environment which has a controlled level
of contamination. There are different standards depending on the
country of operation which dictate the level of contamination that
is allowed to be present in the room. For example in the UK they
are ISO standards, an ISO 9 clean room is permitted to have more
contamination than an ISO 1 clean room. Clean rooms are used across
a variety of industries including the manufacture of
pharmaceuticals or in specific scientific research that requires a
contamination free environment.
[0003] Typically smoke or fire barriers use a textile fabric
deployed from a roller and which has a resistance to fire. They can
contain metallic elements in the form of a thread or
reinforcements. The different elements of these curtains, including
seams, reinforcing bars or the fabric itself provides crevices that
can be contaminated and be difficult to clean to the standard
required for a clean room.
[0004] There are a number of different cleaning agents required to
clean a smoke or fire barrier to a clean room standard. Some of
these cleaning agents can degrade the fabric of conventional smoke
or fire barriers, depending what they are made from.
[0005] Metallic smoke or fire barriers are known in the art. They
usually take the form of a series of horizontal metallic panels
that form a shutter which folds in on itself when not in use. These
types of smoke or fire barriers harbour dust and other
contamination in the cavities between each panel and are therefore
difficult to clean. For these reasons they are unsuitable for use
in a clean room environment.
[0006] EP 2 754 468 discloses, in terms of its abstract:
[0007] A smoke or fire protection device to seal an opening
comprising a flexible protection member that can be put in a
protection arrangement in which the protection element counteracts
the spread of smoke and/or fire through the opening, and can be put
in a storage arrangement in which the opening is unsealed, wherein
the protection element only comprises metal foil or metal foil and
a wire mesh.
[0008] The object of the present invention is to provide an
improved smoke or fire barrier which is suitable for use in a clean
room.
[0009] According to the invention there is provided a smoke or fire
barrier for a clean room comprising: [0010] a metallic curtain,
which consists of: [0011] at least one panel of metallic foil,
having [0012] a plurality of dimples arranged across the surface of
the metallic foil, [0013] means for deployment and withdrawal of
the curtain.
[0014] Normally the means for deployment of the curtain will
include a roller from which the curtain can be unrolled for
deployment. Alternatively it could be a concertina deployment
means, preferably with radiused folds not imparting permanent
deformation to the curtain as in an "S" shaped folded
formation.
[0015] The dimples can be arranged in an array substantially
parallel to the deployment direction, or transverse thereto or at
an intermediate angle. Indeed the array can have a number of
internal orientations, such that one is parallel to the deployment
direction, one transverse and a third diagonal to the deployment
direction.
[0016] Normally the array will be regular, but can be arranged in a
random pattern or arranged to present an image or word.
[0017] The dimples may impressed in the foil from one side only,
but are preferably impressed from both sides. The impressed dimples
can have orientation in a particular direction, giving their array
a predominant direction. However they are preferably
symmetrical.
[0018] They may be continuous or they may have planar lands in
between them.
[0019] Normally the impressions will have impressed ends which
impart continuous curvature to the dimpled foil.
[0020] Normally we would expect the pitch between the dimples,
measured in X, Y directions where these are the principal
directions of the array, to be 4 mm and 25 mm, and preferably
between 5 mm and 15 mm. In the preferred embodiment it is 7 mm.
Equally we would normally expect the extent of the dimples, that is
their peak to peak dimension transverse a mid-plane of the dimpled
foil to be 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm and to preferably between 0.75 mm and
1.5 mm. In the preferred embodiment it is 1.0 mm.
[0021] The foil typically has a thickness of 0.04 mm however it can
be envisaged that any thickness which allows the curtain to be
deployed, retracted and stored would be suitable. Preferably the
foil is between 30 micron and 100 micron in thickness. Normally it
will be of stainless steel.
[0022] For larger curtains, the metallic curtain can be made up of
a series of metallic foil panels connected at seams. The seams can
be welded. The metallic foil panels can also be connected by means
of a metallic hook and loop fastener or be sewn together with a
metallic thread.
[0023] Preferably the seams are in the direction of deployment, at
least where this is downwards. This seam orientation places less
weight induced load on the seams than if they are parallel with the
roller or at least across the direction of deployment. Nevertheless
parallel, indeed angled seam orientation is possible, particularly
if the drop of the curtain is greater than available foil
length.
[0024] Preferably each seam consists of 4 thicknesses of the foil,
each panel having a folded in hem and the two hems being hooked
together. This arrangement hides cut edges of the foil and leaves
folded edges exposed as "soft" edges. Alternatively the hems can be
narrow and not inter-engaged, resulting in the seam having three
thicknesses. Two thicknesses are possible but such a seam leaves
sharp, cut edges exposed.
[0025] Dimples may not be present on the foil, however the presence
of the dimples enables a thicker foil to be able to roll up like a
traditional fire curtain.
[0026] The metallic curtain could have a further coating
particularly but not exclusively containing an added pigment to
change the colour or some fire retardant properties.
[0027] To help understanding of the invention, a specific
embodiment thereof will now be described by way of example and with
reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
[0028] FIG. 1 is a front view of a smoke or fire barrier in
accordance with the invention and suitable for use in a clean
room,
[0029] FIG. 2 is an end view of the barrier of FIG. 1,
[0030] FIG. 3 is a scrap elevation of a dimpled foil of the curtain
of FIG. 1,
[0031] FIG. 4 is a cross-section on the line IV-IV in FIG. 3 of the
dimpling of the foil,
[0032] FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3 of an alternative foil
showing dimples arranged at 45 degrees,
[0033] FIG. 6 is a cross-section of a seam of FIG. 1 with 4 layers
of foil,
[0034] FIG. 7 is a similar cross-section of another seam with 3
layers of foil,
[0035] FIG. 8 is a further similar cross-section of a sewn
seam.
[0036] Referring to the Figures there is a smoke or fire barrier 1,
comprising a head box 2 which contains a roller 9. Extending down
from the head box are a pair of side guides 3 which guide a
metallic foil curtain 5 from the roller, where it is stored, to a
floor when deployed. At the bottom of the curtain 5, where it meets
the floor when deployed is a bottom bar 4.
[0037] The metallic foil curtain 5 is made up of individual foil
panels 6 that are welded together with a continuous spot weld to
create substantially vertical seams 7. Substantially vertical seams
are preferable to horizontal seams as they provide an improved
weight bearing ability of the curtain in the vertical direction. At
the seams, folded edges 71 of the panels can be provided, as shown
in FIGS. 6-8, with hems 72 turned in. The hems can be laid against
each other to provide four thicknesses of the foil at the seams. Or
as shown in FIG. 7, the hems can be narrower and not overlapping,
to give the no more than three thicknesses.
[0038] If there is a fire, the curtain is deployed from the head
box 2 where it is stored in a roll. The curtain is unrolled, guided
by the side guides and under the weight of the bottom bar 4, until
this reaches the floor. It creates a barrier to fire and smoke.
[0039] The curtain is secured in the head box at its top end by
welding the top of the curtain directly to the roll.
[0040] The curtain is made from a 0.04 mm thick, foil panel of
stainless steel with dimples 8 arrayed across it. As shown in FIG.
4, they are arrayed at a pitch of 7 mm in both the X & Y
direction of the panel and impressed from each side of the foil, as
dimples 81 from one side and dimples 82 from the other side. The
dimpling punches, not shown, have rounded ends imparting rounded
shape to the dimples and continuous, substantially sinusoidal,
curvature from one dimple to the next. The dimples 81,82 have a
peak to peak dimension of 1.0 mm.
[0041] An alternative dimple array is shown in FIG. 5, where the
dimples 83 are oblong, impressed from one side only and arrayed in
aligned lines 84, which are generally horizontal in use.
[0042] The dimples facilitate smoother rolling and unrolling of the
curtain compared to a plain stainless foil curtain. Further they
give the curtain improved fire retardation characteristics.
[0043] The invention is not intended to be restricted to the
details of the above described embodiment. For instance, the
curtain could be detachable from the head box. The curtain may also
be attached in the head box by any number of previously mentioned
connection methods for example but not limited to, sewing with a
metallic thread, welding, metallic hook and loop fastener means or
by a clamping arrangement.
[0044] The dimples may be shaped differently to those described in
the specific embodiment, dimples of many shapes can have the same
characteristics of providing improved thermal characteristics.
[0045] The metallic foil panels are connected to one another by
welding. However they could also be connected by sewing with a
metallic thread as shown in FIG. 8 or a metallic hook and loop
fastener--not shown.
[0046] The metallic curtain could have at least one further coating
or layer, particularly but not exclusively with an added pigment to
change the colour or some fire retardant properties.
* * * * *